To Domnic Fernandes, Bernardo Colaco, Edward Verdes, Thanks very much for the excellent insights into the world of our intrepid pilots. "Ispid dhorchem poddta xembor / Ho slow zavunk carburetor" is first-rate stuff!! Certainly the near Macau connection is intriguing, as is the tarvottis' influence.
In the early nineties, certainly from 1991 to 1993, a pilot named Vasant used to wait for passengers at the stand at the churchward corner of Azad Maidan. At the time he must have been between 55 and 60, used to wear a battered blue cap. His motorcycle was absolutely something else - an early 1950s BMW! The several times I rode with Vasant I never managed to get him to talk much about himself, or his awesome motorbike. I'd very little Konknni then, and he wasn't comfortable with English or Hindi or Marathi beyond the basics. It was only some years later that I was able to piece together some fragments of what was no doubt a fascinating story. Vasant was from Taleigao. He'd been able to buy the BMW cheap soon after December 1961 (how he got the money to do so seems a mix of apocrypha and possibility, for it was hinted at that he and several others came upon some of the cash, securities and banking instruments left behind in the Portuguese withdrawal) and took to the 'piloting' trade. If any of this is even partially true it would mean that in whichever form, the idea of motorcycles as public transport goes back quite a long way in Goa. From Domnic's account the 70s saw the formalisation of the business, although as Edward says the tarvottis were able to spot a resource being underutilised and of course the tradition of going to sea is a long one, which could mean that 'pilots' pre-date the 70s. It's also possible, to use Bernardo's point, that the idea was imported from elsewhere by tarvottis. Whatever the origin, this is a most absorbing subject, so commonplace for those of us who live here and yet under-represented in media and contemporary studies. Best, Rahul ________________________________________________ [EMAIL PROTECTED] Goa, India : +91 9321027684 / +91 832 2417847
